Recently, Oscar nominations were officially announced, stirring up a wide array of passionate opinions and discourse. The films that received the most nominations included Emilia Pérez, The Brutalist, and Wicked. The ten films nominated for best picture, while seemingly an eclectic group, shared surprising thematic similarities. All films in some way explore the danger of deceptive leaders, governments that abuse their power, and individuals who seek validation only to be neglected or manipulated, topics that all hold significant weight in America’s current political climate.
The nominees for Best Picture include:
(Descriptions are in bold)
- Anora – A young Brooklyn striver is thrust into her own Cinderella story when she marries the son of a Russian oligarch. The director, Sean Baker, previously directed The Florida Project, which you may have seen if you’ve taken Josh’s English class.
- The Brutalist – A holocaust survivor named Lazslo Toth is commissioned to build a grand edifice for a wealthy client, while simultaneously pursuing the American Dream. The three and-a-half-hour long film stirred up controversy when it was revealed to have used AI. Though director, Brady Corbet, stated that it was merely to correct certain pronunciations when characters spoke in Hungarian.
- A Complete Unknown – The film follows a young Bob Dylan and his career in folk-music, highlighting both Dylan’s personal life, and his daringly political songs. The film earned Timothee Chalamet his second Oscar nomination. You can read the HB Current’s review of the film here.
- Conclave – A soft-spoken cardinal manages the election of the new pope, while uncovering various conspiracies and scandals uncovered about each candidate. The film’s plot and interweaving political dimensions draws fascinating parallels to the presidential election in November. Many have even compared the film’s twists and turns to this year’s awards season.
- Dune: Part Two – The follow up to Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic follows Paul Atreides as he steps further into his role as the prophesied messiah. The film interestingly diverts from the novel’s portrayal of alleged saviors, further deepening its themes of manipulation and exploitation of resources.
- Emilia Pérez – The musical/crime thriller follows a drug dealing king-pin in Mexico who enlists the help of an overlooked lawyer so that she can fake her death and transition into a woman. This film has caused quite a stir, particularly in the past two weeks. Both trans critics and a majority of the Mexican community have taken issue with the film’s inclusion of trans stereotypes, combined with its supposed romanticization of narco traffickers. The film’s shallow representation has been mainly attributed to its director, who is neither Mexican nor trans, and recently stated in an interview that Spanish is a language associated with poor countries.
- I’m Still Here – The film follows real-life activist Eunice Paiva, who is forced to contend with her husband’s disappearance while in the midst of the military-dictatorship in Brazil. The film’s main actress, Fernanda Torres received a nomination for best actress, becoming the only Brazilian alongside her mother nominated for an acting Oscar.
- Nickel Boys – Based on the novel by Colson Whitehead, the film follows two African-American boys in 60’s Florida, Elwood and Turner, who are forced to attend an abusive reform school. Nickel Boys also earned a ‘best adapted screenplay’ nomination for its director RaMell Ross.
- The Substance – An aging actress attempting to stay relevant uses a black market drug to sprout a younger version of herself, with unexpected consequences. The film was lauded for its ambitiously gross body horror and condemnation of impossible beauty standards. Many were surprised that the Oscars actually gave a horror-film proper recognition, with it earning 5 nominations total.
- Wicked – Adapting the broadway musical, the film chronicles the story of university roommates Elphaba and Glinda before they respectively became known as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good. The film received 10 nominations total, including Best Actress for Cynthia Erivo, and Best Supporting Actress for Ariana Grande. The Current also covered this film separately.
Until recently, many award pundits were predicting Emilia Pérez to take the top-prize of ‘best picture’, partly due to the fact that it received the most nominations. However, the dispute surrounding its lead actress’ past tweets combined with fervent backlash against such a polarizing film receiving lofty industry recognition has dampened its chances. Karla Sofía Gascón, who plays the titular character, recently criticized the PR team of her ‘best actress’ competitor, Fernanda Torres, accusing them of trying to undermine her work and the film. Many have said that Gascón’s comments violated Academy rules when it comes to discussing fellow nominees. Gascón has also come under fire for various offensive tweets she made that reemerged mere days ago.
The Oscars aren’t necessarily ignoring current events transpiring in America, made particularly evident by their choice to nominate Sebastian Stan’s critical portrayal of Donald Trump in the film The Apprentice. Though various individuals feel that the Academy continually utilizes retrograde films to combat a political environment that grows more and more volatile each day. The Academy’s final decisions this year will either disprove or further authenticate the general opinion that the Oscars have become irrelevant. Only time will tell once the official winners are announced on March 2.
